1. Field of Invention
The present invention is a vehicular mounted fishing rod holder with a mechanism to restrain fishing rods with a lock.
2. Prior Art
Fishing rod holders mounted to front bumpers of sport vehicles holding fishing rods in a vertical position are popular in the sport of fishing.
These rod holders hold the rods in a convenient and easily accessible position as well as enhance the decor of the vehicle to which they are added. Typically these holders are comprised of several tubes vertically mounted to the front bumper of a vehicle. The handle ends of the fishing rods are inserted into the tubes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,099 entitled "Fishing Rod Holder" issued Oct. 3, 1989 to Earl M. Boger, Jr. is similar to the type under discussion although it is directed toward being mounted on a boat as opposed to a vehicle. This rod holder has slots to restrain a post of a fishing reel. Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,446 entitled "Fishing Pole Holder/Carrier For Use With A Vehicle" issued Apr. 27, 1993 to Phillip J. Greenburg discloses the vertical tubes common to this type of fishing rod holder. U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,416 entitled "Enclosing-Type Fishing Pole Carrier" issued on Feb. 25, 1986 to Niel F. Upham discloses a different type of rod holder comprising an enclosed tube with a lockable cap on the tube to prevent theft of the rods. While this particular holder is not the type of the present invention, it does have a lockable cap to prevent theft of the rods. While this enclosed type of rod holder does have utilitarian value, it does not present the visual appeal presented in the holder of the present invention. This holder also has a multitude of individual caps that can be lost or misplaced when removing the rods for use.
While the above patents have merit, they fail to disclose a rod holder of the vertical tube type with a means of locking the rods in the vertical tubes.